Computer security lock for trapezoidal security slot

ABSTRACT

A portable electronic device requiring securing against theft, includes a cavity with an opening thereinto. The opening is accessible at an exterior of the device, and defined by an upper edge, a juxtaposed lower edge, and a pair of juxtaposed side edges. The cavity is defined by an upper wall, a juxtaposed lower wall, and juxtaposed side walls, the side walls being angled relative to each other with a separation distance between them gradually increasing in a direction into said cavity, away from said opening into said cavity, whereby a planar cross section through the cavity that bisects both side walls has a trapezoidal shape. The lock opening has a size and shape slightly larger than the cross-sectional size of the forward section of a locking element and an interior larger in cross-sectional size than at the opening of the cavity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional under 37 C.F.R. §1.53(b) of Ser.No. 14/727,354, filed Jun. 1, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,549,476, issuedJan. 17, 2017), which is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. §1.53(b) of (1)Ser. No. 13/974,648, filed Aug. 23, 2013 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,137,911,issued Sep. 15, 2015), which claims benefit of Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 61/692,465, filed Aug. 23, 2012; and (2) Ser. No. 13/476,235,filed May 21, 2012 (abandoned), which claims benefit of ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/585,849, filed Jan. 12, 2012, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to devices for inhibiting the theft ofrelatively small but expensive pieces of equipment such as computers,telephones and the like. More specifically, the present invention isdirected to a theft preventing lock for computers, tablets and the like,which has a locking element which is designed to be received in atrapezoidal or conical, security cavity or slot.

The present invention is directed to a computer security lock of thetype disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,989, the contents of which areincorporated fully by reference herein. Prior art FIGS. 1, 2 and 3herein correspond, respectively, to FIGS. 2, 9 and 13A of theaforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,989 patent.

In FIG. 1, an electronic computer or a keyboard 10 has a security slotinto which is inserted a lock 12 which has a cable assembly 14 with aflexible cable 16 and a loop 18. This type of a lock can be used toattach itself to the keyboard 10 and to be tethered to an immovableobject, in well known manner.

The lock 12 has a locking element 20 (FIG. 2) which can be rotated inrectangular, 3×7 mm security slot 22 that is formed in the wall 24 ofthe keyboard, or tablet, or telephone or any small and expensive object10. The pins 26 prevent rotation of the lock body relative to thesecurity slot 22.

The cable assembly 14 can be coupled to the lock body with a sleeve 28.The wall 24 of the equipment 10 is formed with the slot 22 (FIG. 3)which has the aforementioned pins 26.

The prior art rectangular security slot measuring 3×7 mm and having arotatable T-bar locking element, e.g., 20, poses issues of complexity,insufficient sturdiness and proneness to breakage in some respects.

Another drawback of the prior art mechanism is that the T-bar lockingelement 20 needs to rotate behind the wall 24 of the piece of equipmentand, as a result, can cause interference with other internal components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide electronic equipmentsecurity locks which avoid at least some of the disadvantages of theprior art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lock which doesnot necessarily need to have a throughgoing opening in the body of theequipment.

The foregoing and other objects are realized with a locking mechanismwhich is generally similar to those found in the art, except that thelocking element is generally trapezoidal or conical in shape and isdesigned to fit into a security slot in the equipment that has a narrowopening which flares outwardly and defines within a trapezoidal orconical chamber for the purpose of securely holding the locking elementtherewithin.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lock is configured to beattached to electronic equipment requiring securing against theft andthe lock comprising: a lock body; a locking element protruding from thelock body and having a forward distal section that is comparativelywider in cross-sectional size compared to a rear section thereof, theforward section being configured to be insertable into a cavity formedin the equipment, where the cavity is defined by an opening having asize and shape slightly larger than the cross-sectional size of theforward section of the locking element and an interior larger incross-sectional size than the opening of the cavity; a slidable lockingpin configured to slide alongside the locking element and into thecavity, after the locking element has been inserted into said cavity, tosubstantially fill a space of the cavity left unoccupied by the lockingelement; a sliding mechanism coupled to the locking pin and configuredto slide the locking pin into and out of the cavity; and a lockingmechanism to lock the locking mechanism within the lock body to preventwithdrawal of the locking element from the cavity.

In preferred embodiments, the locking element has a pair of side wallsthat are angled relative to the rear section of the locking element toform the forward distal section. Also the locking pin has two lateralside walls, one of which abuts an adjacent side wall of the lockingelement and the other which faces an interior side wall of the cavity.Preferably, the cavity has a three dimensional trapezoidal shape incross-section, and the opening into the cavity and forward footprint ofthe forward distal section are rectangular in shape.

Preferably, the lock comprises a mechanical structure for holding acable attached to the lock body, and the lock body has width, length andthickness dimensions and the thickness dimension measures less than 7.9mm. Also, the width dimension is less than 5 mm and the length dimensionis less than 30 mm. Further, the locking element has a width dimensionsmaller than 4.75 mm and a thickness dimension less than 3.1 mm. Stillfurther, the side walls have an angle of about 70° relative to said rearsection of said locking element.

Preferably, the lock includes a locking element base in which aproximate end of the locking element is anchored, the locking elementbase having a circular circumferential edge which is rotatably held in acomplementary circular groove formed in the lock body for allowingrotation of the locking element relative to the lock body, and furthercomprising an interior passage through which the locking pin isslidable. Preferably, a holder is provided for the sliding pin and thesliding pin has a proximal end which is held in the holder. A retainingpin holds the proximal end of the locking pin in the holder in a mannerwhich allows lateral movement of the proximal end of said locking pin inthe holder. A coupling mechanically couples the holder to the slidingmechanism. The locking mechanism is operable by a flat key that isoperable to cause the sliding pin to selectively assume a lockedposition or an unlocked position and to operate the lock mechanism intothe locked position and unlocked position without requiring turning ofthe flat key. The key has a facing side and an opposed rear side andwherein operating the sliding locking mechanism to move and lock thelocking pin in the locked position or unlocked position depends on theorientation of the facing side of the flat key in an interior keychannel of the locking mechanism.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the invention which refers tothe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is perspective of a prior art cable locked equipment.

FIG. 2 is a prior art sketch showing a lock with a rotatable T-barfitted inside a rectangular security slot.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged and partially cut away depiction of a portion ofthe lock of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 diagrammatically illustrate the locking principle ofthe present invention.

FIG. 7 is a first perspective of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a second perspective of one lock embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 9, 9 a and 9 b diagrammatically illustrate a preferred embodimentof the lock of the present invention with dimensional specifications.

FIGS. 10, 10 a and 10 b illustrate a trapezoidal slot for receiving thelock of the present invention, in accordance with a preferredembodiment.

FIG. 11a is a perspective, exploded view of the lock of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 11b and 11c are plan views thereof.

FIG. 12 shows a preferred lock embodiment for the lock of FIG. 11 a.

FIGS. 13a, 13b and 13c illustrate a cable holding accessory which isattachable to the lock of the present invention.

FIG. 14 illustrates an alternative locking mechanism to that of FIG. 12.

FIGS. 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d illustrate a further slot embodiment forreceiving the lock of the present invention.

FIGS. 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d illustrate a still further embodiment of aslot for receiving the lock of the present invention.

FIGS. 17a, 17b, 17c and 17d illustrate a still further embodiment of aslot for receiving the lock of the present invention.

FIGS. 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d illustrate a still further embodiment of aslot for receiving the lock of the present invention.

FIG. 19 illustrates diagrammatically a lock that can be utilized withthe embodiment of FIGS. 15a -15 d.

FIG. 20 illustrates diagrammatically a lock mechanism for the slotillustrated in FIGS. 16a -16 d.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 4-6, the locking principle of the presentinvention is described as follows. The body or wall 50 of equipment thatneeds to be secured against theft has formed therein a blind (or eventhrough-going) cavity 52 with a generally rectangularly shaped opening52 a (FIG. 10a ) which has outwardly tapering side walls 54 and 56 and aback wall 58, defining a trapezoidal shaped slot in a vertical crosssection.

The complementary shaped locking element 60 has a leading lock body 60 awhich has a leading width 60 b approximately equal, but slightly smallerthan the width of the opening 52 a. Therefore, the locking element 60can be easily inserted into the cavity 52 and pushed to the left,enabling the slidable locking pin 70 to be pushed into the cavity 52,filling it and allowing the right side wall 70 a thereof to engage theside wall 54 of the cavity 52. In this state, it is now impossible topull on the locking element 60 and retrieve it from the cavity 52. Thegreater the pulling force, the more force is exerted on the slidable pin70, pushing it against the cavity side wall and the tighter the grasp ofthe locking mechanism on the cavity, or more precisely, on the block ofmaterial which constitutes the wall or body 50 of the equipment.Although (FIG. 10a ) shows the top wall 64 and bottom wall 66 of thecavity being flat, the invention is not necessarily so limited. The keyis that the cavity has an opening which is narrower than the interiorsize of the cavity, which allows the insertion of a widening bodylocking element therein and the locking thereof inside the cavity, asdiagrammatically illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. Thus, in FIG. 5, thelocking element is shown to be integral with the locking element body 62which has a sliding channel formed therein, in which the locking pin 70is slidable. In FIG. 6, the locking pin 70 is shown partially moved intothe cavity 52.

Referring to FIG. 7, in an embodiment reduced to practice, the lockhousing 72 houses therewithin a locking mechanism operable to slide thelocking pin 70 alongside the locking element 60 and into theaforementioned slot or cavity. The lock housing has a cable holder 74with an opening for receiving the proximate end of cable 76 to be heldand retained in place by a retaining pin 76 b. An opening 78 is providedfor a key to operate the sliding, locking pin 70. The slot 78 for thelocking key can be seen in FIG. 8.

With reference to FIGS. 9, 9 a and 9 b, an important aspect of theinvention can be appreciated, which derives from the fact that the lockbody 72 has a comparatively thin construction with a thickness of orless than about 7.8 mm, a width of about 24.6 mm and a length of about29.5 mm (excluding the 8 mm extension for the cable holder).

With reference to FIGS. 10, 10 a and 10 b, the preferred dimension ofthe cavity 52 provides a depth of a minimum of 3.25 mm and side walls 54and 56 that extend at an angle of about 71° to the horizontal line 54 a,and is further provided with an entrance guideway 80 defined by sidewalls 82 and 84, which extend at an angle of about 63° relative to thehorizontal line 54 a. The depth of the guideway is approximately 2 mm,as shown.

In accordance with an embodiment that has been reduced to practice, thelock body 72 and its internal mechanisms are described below byreference to FIGS. 11a, 11b, 11c and 12.

In FIG. 11a , the lock body base 53 is provided with the cable holder 74having the opening 76 a for the C-set cable retaining screw. The key canbe inserted through the opening 78. In the interior cavity 53 a can beinserted the locking mechanism shown in FIG. 12. The cover 55 has leftand right side panels which fit over the body 53 and which can besecured to the body via retainer pins 59, passing through opening 57,creating the closed lock body 72 shown in FIG. 7. The protruding lockingelement 60 is integrally formed with a cylindrical body which has aperipheral surface 63 which is shaped to rotatably fit within an annulargroove 65 in the body 64, retained therein by the arcuate body 67 of thecover 55. The locking pin 70 protrudes through the cylindrical body 61and is itself mounted in a holder 71, which has a sliding slot 77 whichallows the locking pin to be held therein by means of a pin 75. Thereby,when the body 71 is pushed from right to left and through the hollowcylindrical body 61, it will slide alongside the locking element 60 asshown in FIG. 7. The to be described locking mechanism grasps onto theholding portion 79 (FIG. 11c ) which allows the locking pin 70 to slidethrough the cylindrical body 61.

Referring to FIG. 12, the holding portion 79 shown in FIG. 11c is shownat the left of the Figure connected to a pulling/pushing arm 110, whichis itself anchored in a sliding block 114 that moves between twopositions within the block 104 having a front wall 119 and a rear wall121. As described in the present inventor's co-pending patentapplication Ser. No. 13/377,318 (filed on Dec. 9, 2011), when thedriving pins 157, 156 and 161 through 165 are controlled by the key 126,through the insertion of the key into the key slot 120, the locking pins151, 152, 153, 153H, 154 and 155 (located in block 116 which has anupper boundary 117 below the bottom surface 127 of sliding block 114)move by spring action, e.g., spring 151H, out of the chamber 118,allowing the sliding block 114 to move to the left and to become lockedin that position until the key orientation is reversed, allowing thepulling bar 110 to be pulled to the right, as shown in FIG. 12.Regardless, the movement of the block 114 either to the left or to theright results in positioning the locking pin inside or outside thecavity 52, respectively. The contents of the aforementioned Ser. No.13/377,318 co-pending application are incorporated by reference herein.The contents of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/505,492 filed May 2, 2012,which elaborates the details of the flat cylinder lock, are alsoincorporated by reference herein.

It should be noted again that the perfectly horizontal movements of thebar 110 still results in the locking pin 70 moving forward and to theleft in FIG. 11b , owing to the provision of the freedom of movement forthe holding pin 75 in the vertically enlarged guide slot 77.

Generically, it is not necessary to provide the lock mechanism asdescribed above, as many other lock mechanisms, including a round bodyconventional lock that is mounted on top of the cover 55 and whichpenetrates into the interior 53 a can be utilized to slide the lockingpin holder 77 to the left and to the right within. Furthermore, the lockmechanism can be operated by a key or even by a combination lock or thelike. An advantage of the lock mechanism depicted in FIG. 7 is that itcan be inserted into a slot which is located very close to the surfacein which the equipment 10 is located. For example, in the case of a verythin tablet computer which is only a fraction of an inch thick, the slotin the rear or side may be located very close to the table surface.Still, the very thin-bodied, low profile lock of the present inventiondoes not interfere and allows the low profile lock mechanism to beutilized without disrupting the resting stability of the tablet on theholding surface.

With reference to FIG. 14, an alternate embodiment is shown in which thelocking element consists of left and right triangular wedges 141, 142,both of which are pivotally mounted at respective pivot points 143, 144and which can pivot relative to each other to allow them to overlap andthus, to be inserted into the cavity 52. However, as the depth ofpenetration is increased, the side wall of the entrance guide interactwith the projections 145 and 146, which spread the wedges 141, 142 tofill the cavity 52, which exposes an opening therebetween through whicha locking pin 148 with a narrow tip 147 can be driven in and out withthe mechanism previously described, preventing withdrawal of the lockfrom the cavity in the equipment 10.

With reference to FIGS. 13a, 13b and 13c , it is noted that the housingof the lock can support a cable locking accessory 90 which has aprojection 92 that fits into an opening in the lock body with the twoarms 94, 96 engaged in the slots 97 and 98, thereby creating a closespace between the accessory 90 and the body through which cables can bethreaded, and thus locked in place.

With the present invention, no mechanism is needed to turn a T-bar or tocause scissor-like prongs to move to the right and to the left, as inthe prior art. The trapezoidal locking tab 60 is merely inserted andthen the pin 70, which has tapered ends, is pushed inside the lockingslot, which naturally drags the tab 60 slightly to the left, locking thelock 12 to the piece of equipment and tethering it to an immovableobject.

Slot configurations different than those shown in FIGS. 10, 10 a and 10b can be utilized. Thus, in FIG. 15a , the slot 150 has curved sidewalls150 a and 150 b where the sidewall is somewhat straight and more curvedadjacent the opening 152. The opening 152 has sidewalls 152 a and 152 b.The roof 150 c and floor 150 d of the slot 150 are flat and parallel toeach other. The slot is formed in the block of material 154 which can benothing more than the thickness of the housing or outside wall of theequipment to be protected against theft.

In similar fashion, the slot 160 in FIGS. 16b and 16c is pyramid shapedwith an opening 162. The slot 160 has left and right, outwardly slopingsidewalls 160 a and 160 b, a floor 160 c and 160 d, which also taperout. The opening 162 is quite small. But it should be much larger,whereby the sidewalls 160 a, 160 b, etc., would have a slant relative tothe opening which is much shallower than shown.

In FIGS. 17a-17d , the slot 170 is spherical and its opening 172 isrectangular. Lastly, in FIGS. 18a-18d , the slot is again spherical, butthe opening 182 into it is circular.

Referring to FIG. 19, the slot 150 of FIGS. 15a-15d can receive alocking element 193 which has a forward end 193 a which measures inwidth slightly smaller than the opening 192 into the slot 190. After thelocking element 193 has been moved to the left, the slidable and curvedlocking pin 195 is pressed into the slot 190, preventing removal of thelocking element 193. The operation is similar to as previouslydescribed.

In FIG. 20, the lock mechanism for the pyramid shaped slot 200 of FIGS.16a-16d is illustrated in the form of a locking element 203 and anL-shaped locking pin 205. Reference number 202 points to a square whichdefines the opening into the slot 200. The walls of the slot 200 flareout in all directions, pyramid-like, to form the slot 200.

As described above, the invention is directed to a portable electronicdevice requiring securing against theft, said device comprising: adevice body defined by exterior walls; a cavity having an openingthereinto, the opening being accessible at an exterior wall of saiddevice, and being defined by an upper edge, a juxtaposed lower edge, anda pair of juxtaposed side edges; said cavity being defined by aplurality of cavity walls including an upper wall, a juxtaposed lowerwall, and juxtaposed side walls, said side walls being angled relativeto each other with a separation distance between them graduallyincreasing in a direction into said cavity, away from said opening intosaid cavity, whereby a planar cross section through said cavity thatbisects said side walls has a trapezoidal shape.

Further, as described above, the invention is directed to a portableelectronic device requiring securing against theft, said devicecomprising: a portable electronic device requiring securing againsttheft, said device comprising: a device body defined by exterior walls;a cavity having an opening thereinto, the opening being accessible at anexterior wall of said device, and said opening being defined by an edgethat circumscribes said opening and defines a shape of said opening,said opening being configured for the insertion therethrough of lockingelements of a locking device; and said cavity being defined by wallsextending beyond said opening of said cavity and so defining the cavitythat a notional product that substantially fills the cavity is so shapedthat it could not be introduced into the cavity through said opening.The above device may have the opening defined by four edges and thecavity is defined by outwardly sloping sidewalls, each respectivelyextending away from a respective one of said opening edges and saidoutwardly sloping walls sloping away from each other. The opening isrectangularly shaped. Alternatively, the cavity is spherically shapedand the opening is rectangular. Alternatively, the cavity is sphericallyshaped and the opening is circularly shaped. Alternatively, the cavityis defined by two opposing walls that are arcuately shaped and byanother two opposing walls that are substantially flat, and the openingis rectangularly shaped. An entrance guideway may be provided into theopening.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It ispreferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by thespecific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lock, for being locked inside a computersecurity cavity having juxtaposed first and second side walls both ofwhich extend away from an opening into said cavity, deeper into saidcavity, and both said sidewalls being symmetrically inclined at apredetermined angle relative to a main body plane of said opening, andin which cavity a distance measured between said side walls of saidcavity increases gradually in a direction deeper into said cavity, saidcavity being further defined by spaced top and bottom walls extendingparallel to each other and perpendicularly to said main body plane ofsaid opening and perpendicularly to said side walls, and said side wallsfacing toward each other across said cavity, said lock comprising: alock body; first and second wedge lock elements configured torespectively engage said first and second sidewalls, said first andsecond wedge lock elements being movable between an unlocked positionand a locked position, wherein said wedge lock elements are engaged withand bear against said side walls in said locked position; and a moveablepin selectively moveable in a first direction and in an opposite seconddirection, wherein upon moving in the second direction, said moveablepin causes said first and second wedge lock elements to move to saidlocked position, and said first and second wedge locked elements beingsupported by said lock body; and wherein each said first and secondwedge lock elements includes a respective flat surface, complementary inshape to said side walls, that extends in the same direction and liesagainst and serves to anchor said respective wedge lock element againstone of said sidewalls, when said first and second wedge lock elementshave been moved to the locked position.
 2. The lock of claim 1, whereinthe moveable pin is moveable between said first and second wedge lockelements.
 3. The lock of claim 2, including a lock housing and furtherincluding a cable secured to said to lock housing at one end thereof andsaid cable having a loop section at an opposite distal end thereof whichis configured to enable the cable and the lock housing to be tethered toan immovable object.
 4. The lock of claim 1, wherein said first andsecond wedge lock elements are non-rotatable in said cavity.
 5. The lockof claim 1, including a lock housing, and wherein said lock housing ismechanically coupled to said first and second wedge locking elements,wherein said wedge lock elements are non-rotatably held in said cavity,and wherein said lock housing is rotatable relative to said first andsecond wedge lock elements while said wedge lock elements arenon-rotatably anchored in said cavity.
 6. The lock of claim 1, includinga locking mechanism.
 7. The lock of claim 6, wherein said lock mechanismcan be operated between locked and unlocked positions and wherein insaid locked position of said locking mechanism, movement of said firstand second wedge lock elements from said locked position to saidunlocked position of said wedge lock elements is blocked.
 8. The lock ofclaim 7, wherein said locking mechanism is key-operated.
 9. The lock ofclaim 8, including a key that has a flat body and is insertable into ina key slot provided in said locking mechanism, and said key beingoperable to enable said wedge lock elements to move to their unlockedposition by insertion of said key into said key slot and withoutrotation of said key inside said key slot.
 10. The lock of claim 1,wherein said first and second wedge lock elements are so configured thatthey can only be inserted into the cavity through said opening whileheld at their unlocked position.
 11. The lock of claim 1, wherein saidpredetermined angle measures about 70 degrees relative to said main bodyplane of said opening into said cavity.
 12. The lock of claim 1, whereinsaid first and second wedge lock elements are so configured that whenpositioned in their unlocked position, they can be inserted into thecavity through said opening of said cavity, and said opening beingrectangular and measuring about 3.1×4.55 mm.
 13. The lock of claim 1,wherein the first and second wedge lock elements have wall engagementsurfaces that are complementary in shape to said wall surfaces of saidfirst and second sidewalls of said cavity.
 14. The lock of claim 1, incombination with a portable electronic device wherein said portableelectronic device comprises said computer security cavity.
 15. The lockin combination with a portable electronic device of claim 14, whereinsaid cavity comprises an entrance guideway into said cavity opening,wherein said entrance guideway has at least two non-parallel walls thatserve to guide said wedge lock elements into said cavity through saidopening of said cavity.
 16. The lock of claim 15, wherein said cavityopening has a lateral dimension of about 4.5 mm.
 17. The lock of claim16, wherein said sidewalls of said cavity include an end section atwhich the sidewalls curve back toward each other.
 18. The lock of claim1, wherein said wedge lock elements have cavity engaging surfaces thatare substantially flat throughout.